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Langley, British Columbia (district municipality)

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Langley, British Columbia (district municipality)

The Township of Langley is a district municipality immediately east of the City of Surrey in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It extends south from the Fraser River to the Canada–United States border, and west of the City of Abbotsford. Langley Township is not to be confused with the City of Langley, which is adjacent to the township but politically is a separate entity. Langley is located in the eastern part of Metro Vancouver.

Throughout the last several millennia, the area that is now Langley Township was inhabited by various Stó꞉lō nations, including the Katzie and Kwantlen. There is limited recorded history from this time, as much was passed down through oral tradition rather than written documents. The Kwantlen were a major factor in the salmon trade that later operated out of the Fort Langley. Simon Fraser, while traveling through the Sto:lo territory in 1808 recorded the image of a Kwantlen village:

Their houses are built of cedar planks and in shape, similar to the one already described, the whole range, which is six hundred and forty feet long by sixty broad, is under one roof, the front is eighteen feet high and the covering is slanting: all the apartments which are separated by partitions are square, except the Chief's, which is ninety feet long. In this room the posts or pillars are nearly three feet in diameter at the base and diminish gradually to the top. In one of these posts is an oval opening answering the purpose of the door through which one man may crawl in or out. Above, on the outside, are carved human figures as large as life, with other figures in imitation of beasts and birds.

The first Europeans to stay in the area permanently were the traders of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). In 1827, Fort Langley was built on the banks of the Fraser River, in the area now known as Derby Reach. It was one of a string of trading posts built along the Pacific Coast to compete with American fur traders for the rich pelts available in the region. Farming as well as cranberry and salmon exports soon replaced fur trading as the fort's primary source of income.

The first fort (1827-1839), built with two bastions, a wooden stockade and several buildings, proved to have been built too close to a fast-moving part of the river, in an area prone to flooding. It was rebuilt in 1839 farther upstream. As the HBC's network of forts in the interior grew, Fort Langley became a hub for farming, smithing and for shipping furs back to Europe. Along with farming, the export of cranberries and salmon would soon become the fort's main source of profit.

In 1858, gold was discovered in the Fraser River in what is now the interior of British Columbia, and the fort also became important as a supply station for the miners heading up the river toward the gold fields. With thousands of gold prospectors, many of them American, streaming into the region, the British government created British Columbia as a colony. James Douglas was sworn in as the new colony's first governor in Fort Langley, but New Westminster was chosen as the capital, as Fort Langley was less defensible from an American invasion.

When the gold rush ended, Fort Langley's importance began to decline. The Hudson's Bay Company subdivided and sold the farm it was occupying on Langley Prairie. Farming and logging took over as the dominant local industries.

In 1870, Paul Murray settled what is known today as Murrayville. Together with his sons he owned a quarter section of land on each of the four corners of Yale Road and what now is 216th Street. At that time, this area became known as "Murrays corner" after Alexander Murray, who drowned in the Fraser River in January 1884 while attempting in vain to save a friend. In 1925, the post office named it "Murrayville". The area between 216 street, 216A street, 48th ave and 48A avenue is one of the oldest subdivisions in Langley. Of the eight building lots in this subdivision there are still 6 heritage houses (built before 1930).

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